switching majors

[~*geNeRaTiOn E*~]

currently, i'm a political science major and after this semester is over, i will have completed all prerequisite courses for my undergrad. i'm applying to schools for my undergrad in the next 2 weeks (i have until nov. 30) but since i no longer intend to become a lawyer (the reason for declaring my major as political science), i'm kinda stuck on what i should do.

now, i love chemistry, organic chemistry more specifically (i excel at it too ) and have thought about switching my major but i'm not sure what the hell i'd do with a degree in organic chemistry. i do not want to become a teacher and i know that in order to do something that pays decently, i'd need to at least get my MS (i'll probably get my PhD as well). the problem isn't the amount of schooling but rather what i'd do with my education and degrees. i have a child so i'm very cautious when it comes to making life altering decisions as i'm not only affecting my own life, but i'm affecting hers as well. i just don't want to switch my major and have it amount to nothing or to be stuck doing something that i'm unhappy with. a close friend of mine that has a science background suggested that i take a few more chemistry classes, a physics class, some upper division math classes (calculus at least) and some upper division chemistry classes. i'm all for this except i don't want to do all of this work and then change my mind again because i can't keep up or i don't like the field anymore.

i was thinking i should just finish out my political science degree and then do my graduate work in an area i enjoy but i highly doubt i'd be able to get into a science/chemistry graduate program with a degree in political science. another thing i'm worried about is the highly competitive arena due to pre-med students. i just can't compete with that as my grades aren't perfect and i don't have the time to dedicate to tons of lab hours or work. it's extremely frustrating to feel this confused because i want what's best for me AND my child (doing something i enjoy yet making enough money to live comfortably).

i have researched some career websites (myplan.com, some others i can't recall) and i can't really find anything that suits me. i'm utterly lost

 

[tiger-bunny]

can you find a career that suits you involving the political science degree?

if had to to choose between 2 degress that would be equally usefull (or equally useless) i would choose the degree that i enjoyed most.

now this is just me here, but if i were raising a child i want to show my child that its more important to pursue the things in life that are enjoyable than it is to pursue a safe bet. not saying thats what your doing here, but personally, i would rather do something i love and just barely survive, than be rich and unhappy. again, not saying your settling for the second one, just saying that to me its more important to be on unsteady ground but pursuing my dreams than going with the steady thing that i can't put my heart into.


and really, if i had to guess, i would say the bachelors in Ochem is better than a bachelors in political science any day, unless you are going into law or something. even then if you really enjoyed chemistry and still wanted to practice law, having a technical degree + law degree can be a very powerful tool if you are in a position to use it.

 

[DG]

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I think that is a wide list of careers you could do with a poli sci degree. I have a professor who went back for masters then started teaching Communications and opened his own politicial PR firm. I think being a high school govt teacher would be awesome. I dont know...there are a lot of things on that list that look cool to me. I found the list on a US govt site of careers you could have with your degree your heading to now. Do you not like any of them?

 

[_a_A_C_c_]

you could stick with poli-sci as a major and minor in a science. that way to have a pretty decent background if you choose to do graduate studies in a science related field. and you still have the poli-sci incase you change your mind about law school.

i've noticed that amongst my friends, very few of them have jobs related to their majors. the only ones that do are teachers and IT people.

 

[DG]

^ That is def. a good point.

Very true about people not having jobs related to their degrees!

 

[felix]

CIA Analyst or Agent

for the win!!! :D

 

[patte4dm]

This might be a stupid question. What kind of job can what kind of job can you get with a chemistry degree? Making chemicals for some chemical company?

 

[~*geNeRaTiOn E*~]

a mediator sounds like something i could do and it sounds interesting. i wanted to go into lobbying (for NORML ) but i'm not sure i'd do well in that field. i'm ambivalent about this whole situation. i want to move out and provide for my daughter and myself on my own but at the same time, real life is SCARY! i'd be going about this pretty much alone (i'd have family support but i'm planning on moving at least an hour away; traffic ) and i really don't want to fuck up my daughter's life.

tiger-bunny, i too want to instill those values in my little girl. i would rather he be happy in all that she does than to do what she feels is what me, her dad or anyone else wants her to do. this is why i'm struggling so much, i originally said i wanted to be a lawyer because i received so much encouragement when i first said "when i grow up, i want to be a lawyer!" at age 8. most of my family only cared about how much money i would be making because everyone wanted financial support, especially my parents. now i'm stuck, rapidly approaching a major fork in the road that could lead me down a path i don't want to walk. i really am trying to be strong and decisive not only for my daughter but for myself as well. i don't want to be unhappy for the rest of my life but i don't want to be dirt poor either because i know what it's like. if i didn't have the responsibility of taking care of a child, i would just fuck around in school until i found something i enjoyed and get my degree in that regardless of how much pay i would be receiving but that's not the case.

there's more to the situation that i don't want to get into but basically, i'm doing this for my baby.

oh, and there's a professor at my school that has his PhD in O Chem and i've sent an email to him explaining my dilemma and asked him a few questions about schooling, job prospects, etc. i still haven't received a reply but it's friday so i'm not really expecting one.

 

[_a_A_C_c_]

before you worry about majors, think about what it is you want to do. in the real world, what you majored in isn't as important as your ambition and ability to market yourself.

 

[~*geNeRaTiOn E*~]

a situation came up and now i'm not sure i'll be able to even to get my degree but if i'm able to, i'll be going forward with poli sci. i just don't have the time nor the money to take all of the prerequisite classes to get a degree in chemistry. if, in the future, i have the time, money and desire, i'll go ahead and get my degree in chemsitry. as of right now, school has been bumped to the bottom of my priority list.

thank you all for the advice